Defense of an old earth a peculiar blend of Christianity and science

A Matter of Days: Resolving a Creation Controversy. By Hugh Ross. NavPress, Colorado Springs, Colorado. 2004. ISBN 1-57683-375-5. 256 pages, $15.99.

Hugh Ross is an enigma in modern creationism. As both an astronomer and evangelist (president and founder of the Reasons to Believe organization) he brings an unusual mix of science and religion to the debate. Not only does he accept and vigorously defend the astronomical and geological evidence for an old universe, but he argues that by rejecting long ages, the young-Earth creationists are ignoring some of the most profound proofs of the God of the Bible. Having been branded a "compromiser" and "false prophet" by some young-Earth advocates, Ross's latest book, A Matter of Days, is a thorough biblical and scientific defense of an old Earth.

Ross begins in a scriptural context, reviewing the history of Christian thought on the length of the Genesis creation days. He shows that until recently, most Christian scholars remained open to multiple interpretations. Next Ross leads the reader though a detailed study of biblical passages relevant to the age of creation, such as the meanings of Hebrew words used to measure time.

He accuses young-Earth creationists of placing too much emphasis on Genesis 1 while ignoring other relevant passages. For example he cites verses indicating that God is still "resting" from his creative work, so the Seventh Day has not yet ended and must, therefore, be much longer than twenty-four hours in length.

The bulk of Ross's book is a scientific defense of an old Earth. He describes a variety of astronomical and geological processes that serve as clocks to date the universe and its components, such as the size of the universe and speed of light, the rate of expansion since the Big Bang, the age and evolution of stars, and the various methods of radiometric dating. Since his main audience is young-Earth creationists, he pays special attention to the points on which they differ from mainstream science. He lists and addresses many creationist challenges to an old Earth, such as proposed changes in the speed of light and rate of radiometric decay, and he claims that any such changes are absurd speculations and would have side effects destructive to life. Next he addresses many of the supposed clocks cited in Favor of a young Earth, such as accumulation of lunar dust, decay of Earth's magnetic field, polonium halos, and coexistent human and dinosaur footprints. He explains how all of these claims are either outright falsehoods or use Faulty assumptions to arrive at young-Earth ages. Ross points out the deceptiveness of those who claim their young-Earth views are based on science. He also mocks the "appearance of age" proposal, saying that if God is deceptive in scientific matters he cannot be trusted in scriptural matters either.

Ross describes the conundrum some creationists have made for themselves by limiting the age of Earth but accepting certain biblical claims. For example, to explain the origin of carnivores after the Fall of Adam and the diversity of life after the Flood of Noah, some young-Earth creationists have become hyper-evolutionists--advocating rates of evolutionary change about 100,000 times faster than those accepted by traditional scientists. And because God's creation phase had already ended, the mechanism advocated for this change is a familiar one: natural selection! Having accepted that evolution can be so rapid and effective, the young Earth has to be defended at all costs because an old Earth would provide ample time for evolution to create all life. Ironically, Ross points out the quirks and problems in young-Earth creationism as only another creationist can!

As I read Ross's book I kept asking myself." When is the party going to end? Ross isn't just a traditional scientist with a Christian affiliation; he advocates many anti-science ideas himself. In his books and radio broadcasts, Ross argues that the finite age of the universe and the "fine tuning" required for life can only be explained by the God of the Bible. He rejects virtually all evolution and considers species to be individual creations of God. Whereas young-Earth creationists are forced to accept rapid evolution, Ross, with his old Earth and need for a creator, is forced to deny that evolution has any creative power at all. In this same book he claims that at least [10.sup.100,000,000,000] years would be required for life to originate and evolve on its own. In fact Ross doesn't consider 14 billion years to be a particularly long time: "The entire 14 billion-year history of the universe is much too brief to support the origin and development of life by natural processes alone" (p. 215). Sweeping statements like this pepper the book's pages. When it comes to astronomy Ross sounds like a traditional scientist, but when it comes to biology he sounds like a traditional creationist. This applies to both his methodology and conclusions.